The World Today
This is the world Today: Land Masses Serena (The Main Continent) Novindus A large continent, Novindus is boasts tropical forests, sky-rending speaks and even a single desert on it's eastern edges, but the majority of the continent is endless expanses of savvanah. Scattered across the continent are thousands upon thousands of tiny towns and cities, each ruled by it's own local ruler. Novindus boasts members of nearly ever races, from the tieflings to dasa and even shifters, dark eladrin, elves, and orcs, all living and mingling across the continent. Novindus does have it's own unique races though, containing within it's borders three races, who combined are known as goblinoids. Bloodmist Archipelago Bloodmist Archipelago is a relatively recent addition to the world once it was just a vast area of the Ocean, the legends about its creation tell about a bloodshed in Heaven. When the divine blood fell into the sea it cooled down and solidified becoming Bloodstone, a supernatural material capable of growing and altering nearby land and life forms. At the beginning small Bloodstone spikes emerged from the ocean floor, twisted cristalline spires surrouned by patches of red land tainted by bloodstone influence. During the first few centuries the strange material kept mutliplying, growing to form a small group of Islands, including Hearhblood Island, the first place to rise from the seas, and a ring of small patche of land that surround it. Finally it reached a critical mass and begun growinag at increased rate, some time going deeper under the crust of the planet, but mostly emerging from the seas and forming the modern Archipelago with a land mass comparable with the one of the smallest continents. Recently bloodstone diffusion has slowed down but it is still not rare to see the emergence of new small islands or just spikes of reddish stone coming out from the sea. Bloodmist has a tropical climate and a lush vegetation that feed on an extremely fertile earth, due to Bloodstone mutative powers it also features a quite rich flora composed of weird plants and a fauna of dangerous mutated beings, including the treacherous beast of lies and many gibbering horrors. The landscape is quite chaotic and large spikes of stone or even red crystals are common, some time creating dangerous mazes or forests of stony pillars.The archipelago is almost fully under control of a federation of city state, the so called Free Nation, whose inhabitants has learned to cope with bloodstone hazards and even managed to turn it into their greatest resources. Most of the population however is concentrated on the coast and the inner parst of the islands are still partially unexplored. The nature of reality of bloodmist has being severely damaged by a combination of divine intervention and mortal experimentation and so it hosts various supernatural phenomenas, including a large never ending maelstorm, rumored to hide a powerful source of divine power, a portal to the Farscape and many other wonderous locations. Azora What started as a relatively small island had grown to a large island over the time of Azor'Chapien's time in the world. Now, with his leave, the island stopped growing, and stayed relatively the same, with the forests occasionally growing ever larger. However, a good portion of the original Azoran Kingdom had been transformed into an elemental wasteland by the slaad, making the land completely barren. Meanwhile, the greatest mountain in Azora, Mount Chapien sticks up like a spear from southern portion of the original Azoran Kingdom, with Valden City still surrounding its base, and the peak still concealed by clouds. The Quest Mountains, the greatest mountain range in Azora, rise up out of the very center of Azora, marking the border between all four kingdoms. All of the kingdoms, even the Pure State, have agreed to make these mountains neutral ground. The northernmost portion of Azora remains completely covered in forestland and filled with the Restless Dead, thus the forest earned its name, The Dead Forest. Finally, the rest of Azora is covered in cleared and forested land, with the exception of the Kingdom of Chorn in the western portion of the island, which is a mostly open plain. The fortress of the Code, now abandoned by Azor'Chapien, has slowly been discovered by the Azorans, for an underground passage has been discovered deep within the castle of the royal family. Now, adventurers paid by the crown emabark on expeditions to learn more of their god. Asika Zophar Is a vast continent covered with vast spruce and pine forests along the it´s shores further inland the forests turns to become thinner and thinner until it ends and an endless wasteland of grass, snow, ice and mountains begins. The continent is inhabited by multi-racial barbaric tribes of nomads that wanders the land herding vast amounts of cattle, reindeer and horses and a couple of small Kalafain colonies along it´s southern shores. All of the nomadic tribes and most of the colonies are dominated by Orcs and swear loyalty to the present orcish High Chief. Independent from the barbarian tribe and Kalafian colonies are the scattered loremaster enclaves. The loremasters primary goal on the continent is the to monitor the area, doing their best to prevent outside influence from overwhelming the locals own development, and record the history of the land. Another new arrival is a large group of frost giants. Fleeing the destruction of the Imperium over a millenia past, these refugees have founded a nation called Carnath, remaining seperate from the locals, showing a preference for living in the deepest parts of the continent, oinly raiding south when necessary for supplies such as wood. In the most inhospitable part of the archipelago a group of demon worshiphers, the Shadow Walkers clan, who freely allow otherwordly creatures to possess them has built a series of dark fortress and begun ferocius raids against the local tribes. Chillund Archipelago Kalafai Krak Is a tropical archipelago about onehundred miles away from the Continent´s eastern shores. It consists mainly of hilly terrain dotted with valleys and vast cliffy shores. The islands and its reefs are home to an abundance of birds, fishes and reptiles but has nearly no mammals other then it´s sentient inhabitants the Dwarves and the Halfings of the kingdom of Kalafai. The islands are home to about three million Dwarves and Halflings, a vast trade fleet and probably some of the most wealthiest and largest cities in the world. The capital "Eivi" boasts a population of nearly 200000 and is a major trade hub. The isles are also known for it´s ancient bardic tradion, the Silver Caps and for their influence in both art and music. Taldar A large size continent with a variety of terrain, Taldarcovers the spectrum from mountains in the far west, descending into wild desert, into magically irrigated desert before heaing over another range of mountains into large expansive forests. Covered by a variety of nations, Taldare is home to many populations, some of which are rare off continent, such as minotaurs and teiflings, but even elves, shadar-kai, and huamsn can be found upon it's shores. Ardune The Underdark A dark and inhospitable place, the underdark is an endless warren of tunnels, caverns, and dead ends, inhabitted by some of the most dangerous non-dragon creatures to walk the world. With the proper knowledge of the tunnels, one could walk around the world and never need to come to the surface, bar the need for supplies, such as food. Though the old Imperium, the beholders, Meribia, and even the Free Nation do or did claim territories in the uppermost regions, the depths are largely claimed by mindflayers, who object to surface dwellers interfereing in their depths. The Aether In the beginning times, a great divide took place between the gods as to whether or not aether or air would be the primary atmosphere for the universe's creatures. With the creation of the Azure Aegis around the surface of the planet and the separation of the air within from the aether without, the aether fell out of favor, and is mostly populated by beings of Oravalos' and Tsarokga-Noggoth's creation. The Aether itself is a thin gas, extending outwards from the planet as far as the farthest rocks of the Vorpal Cascade, a series of asteroids spread throughout the heavens. Residents of the Aether include the Ae-Sylvani, the Children of the Aether, contingents of the Iron State and far in the recesses of space, the Tsarok, a conglomerate set of races all devoted to the fungal lord Tsarokga-Noggoth and the decay of the world below. The Aether is separated into two compartments... the outer aether lies beyond the Azure Aegis, while the inner aether lies within the center of the planet. It should be noted that the outer aether is currently nearly entirely converted into Miasma, a toxic form of Aether that infects and destroys anything it touches. The Mainland The majority of Ardune is a wild land of jungles and savanna, dominated by the existence of otherwise impossible creatures. Behemoths, great reptilian beasts wander the land freely. Giant insects and amphibians dwell in the swamp in the West of the continent, dwelling along side the simple Boggarts in an eat or be eaten relationship. The gnolls and minotaurs make their homes in the jungle and savanha, while the ghouls dwell in the barren Valley of the dead. The south of the continent, though technically still savanha, is nearly eaten into a wasteland by the large amount of devil worshiping gnolls that live there. The center of the continent is dominated by a massive portal to the Chaos, the inhabitants of which have effectively reduced the core of the land into a constantly shifting landmass, one part of which might be freezing cold, another of which might be molten hot magma. The Chaos Wastes Some time ago, the genasi in the Chaos crash landed on Ardune due to a temporal anomaly that later became the Chaos Rift in the center of the continent. In the process of the crash, a large portion of the North Eastern continent was converted to chaos infested desert. Many creatures were mutated by the chaos energies, though some like the behemoths and genasi proved immune. The Chaos Wastes themselves are little more than a desert unless one stays too long, though since the environment is so harsh there you have more things to worry about than mutation. Despite the harshness of their environment the Genasi have thrived there, creating a bustling economy centered around three major cities: Shatteredhome, the crashed genasi earthmote and the capital of their culture. Tradesmeet, a large trading city on the waste border. And the town of Oreboon, a large mining and forging plant that expanded into a city. There is also a city of exiles, where criminals sentenced to wander the wastes gather known as Brokenchain. Despite the large amount of mutated creatures that dwell in the desert, bandits and raiders from this city and individual groups prove to be the far greater menace in the wastes. Civilizations/Races Terenan States The three Terenean States (New Terena, Rusten, and Menior) are separate countries, but strong allies. All three are mostly comprised of humites and gnomes. The countries are located to the southeast of the Grey Wastes on the main continent. The golden tree Eorna, the source of all healing, can be found in New Terena. If it were to fall or become corrupted, then healing magics would cease to fuction. Each State has its own form of rulership. New Terena is a democracy with an elder elected every seven years; between elder elections, the elder's retinue is elected. Menior is a threocracy ruled by a council. When one member dies, their heir (which doesn't have to be their son or daughter, or even relative) replaces them. In case of a dispute, there is a ritual used to determined the best qualities of potential choices; whether or not this ritual actually exists is speculation. The leaders of Rusten are also elected, but once elected, they serve for life. The "Fist" of Rusten has complete control over all aspects of rule including diplomacy, resource management, and military command, but may assign others to do other tasks if they want. The Terenean States are all allied with eachother, and the decision to go to war must be agreed by the leaders of all three states to proceed. Terena has no strong alliances, but has many minor ones. They despise the vampires, but manages to tolerate their presence in Celeron. Terena was once a single country inhabited only by humites. When the humites were originally created, they lived in the Golden Hills. When the were driven off by the dwarves and halflings, they moved to the northeast. At this time, Shurka sent down the tree of healing, Eorna, to the world. The settlement that they built around Eorna was known as Terena, ruled by the most powerful invoker of the nation. As Terena expanded, it became a target for the frost giants of the South. The first time that they invaded, Terena was able to hold them off, and drive them back to their homeland. During the second invasion, the giants' numbers were great enough, that the population of Terena fled to the Feywyld. By this time, gnomes had already integrated into Terenean society, and helped the humties in their war efforts. In the Feywyld, the Tereneans held off attacks from devils that learned how to enter the Fey. By the time Meribia and Silvera had joined the conquest, the humites returned to find their city demolished. After driving the Imperium back again, the humites rebuilt Terena into, more or less, what it is today. Meriba A country populated mostly by dwarves and halflings, with some changlings mixed in, Meribia is one of the most technologicaly advanced nations in the world, boasting the most advanced engineering and machinery in the world. Meribia's lands mostly consists of expansive plains, though the western ewdges includ a great deal of forest. Meribia's neighbors are the Iron State to the North, Alexandria and the Terenan States to the west, and the Gray Wastes to the south, leaving the eastern edge facing the open ocean. At the center of the nation lies Duskpeak, the only mountain in Meribian territory. Duskpeak is unique in the world in that dozens of earthmotes float around the mountain. On the mountain, all around its base, within, and even on the earthmotes themselves lie the vast metroplis of Meribia. The heart and soul of the nation, Meribia serves as it's capital, and the center of the nations life. The city is in a constantly shifting state, both via it's own nature and the underground war wages within it's borders between the Karak Rik, a guild of vampire hunters, the Red Court, a group of organized vampires combatting the Karak Rik, and the changlings within it;s borders, who have been mistakenly targetted by both sides. Meribia is rules by twin rulers, called the Magnates. According to law, one magnate must be a dwarf and the other must be a halfling, though at times a changling has served, unknown to most. In general, however, changelings avoid the post, prefering to not take the risk of being noticed. Magnates serve a term of twenty years, one being replaced every ten years, and spend most of this time living in the capital building, built upon and into the very peak of duskpeak. Though the word of the magnates is law, they rarely intervene directly, refraining their power to decisions that effect the entire nation. In the event of the magnates contesting each other, unable to come to a joint conclusion, they call upon the Chancellor, who advises each side, attempting to bring about a compromise. If a decision still cannot be reached, the Chancellor's decision is final. The Chancellor serves a five year term. At the end of each term, the high council of the Loremasters (the organization this time) selects a members to fill the post. It is unknown what, if any, requirements and prerequisites the council places on prospective chancellors. Meribia's greatest accomplishments lie within its mastery of machines and technology, as well as architecture. The many earthmotes surrounding Duskpeak are linked to the mountain itself by long stone bridges, ahcnoring the motes to the mountain making the movement of supplies to them a simple matter, though, for those too frightened to use such bridges, elevatores and small scale flying devices are available for a fee. Meribia's airships are relatively unique, similar only to ships made by the neighboring Iron State. They function as much via propellors and machines as by magic. However, Meribia's most unqiue accomplishment are devices they call Flame Shooters. Using an poweder produced with a careful mixture of substances (the exact components and quantiites are a state secret, not even shared with the Loremasters), with flame applied, the device will fire metal projectiles at astounding rates of speed. Such projectiles can peirce the thickest armor and hides, even penetrating dragon hide with regularity. Flame Shooters come in a varietry of sizes, from small handheld models that fire pea sized projectiles, to mounted ones that can fire an object as large as a man. Meribian fortresses and airships are almost universally mounted with Flame Shooters, as well as the rarer Wizard's Fury, a device which sends out a flaming spray of liquid, functioning via a mechanical pump that functions when a lever is pulled, spraying a flammable liquid past an open flame. Meribia considers the Terenan States as strong alliesk, despite differences in the ancient past, though the feeling is not shared. Additionally, they are members of the Continental Alliance, whose members consist of Meribia, Alexandria, Celeron. While Sivera was a former member, since the nations collapse individual nationes and states within the old land have become members. The Continental Alliance is only an alliance in the loosest term. Membership has minimal requirements, being only that their people largely live on Serena, and agree to a full scale war against any nation which attempts to conquer part of the continent. Otherwise, members are free to trade, war, and act however they wish. Sivera The old nation of Sivera was the largest on Serena, it's eladrin upper caste and shadar-kai lower casts spreading far and wide across the continent. With the magical might contained by both races, they easiily were able to survive agains ttheir neighbors and prosper, eventually serving the land overall as a member of the continental alliance. One of he most religiously diverse nation in the world, second only to the Free Nation, Sivera was ruled by a theocratic council, consisting of eleven members; three Verosians, and two each of Mara, Drahthor, Chactross, and the Empress. However, if was this diversity that proved it's undoing. As the council debated and argued over a series of widely debated changes to the law, a Maran rose up and struck down one of the Chactross worshippers. In that instant, the council dissolved, each of the four factions determined to eliminat the other, with the Verosians in between, trying to hold it together. Within a year, the once great nation had collapsed. Sivera is now occupied by an enourmous number of small kingdoms, city-states, and alliances of towns, each struggling to survive the turmoil. Few last more than a century before one government overturns another, or they conquer one another, or the alliance dissolves. However, within it all, several stable nations has grown up. The largest and strongest of the three calls itself Sivera, in homage to their predecessors, and a sign of their wish to reunite the lands. Consisting of the old capital of Salien and numerous other cities, towns, and noble holdings nearby, it is a recognized nation and member of the Continental Alliance. New Sivera is ruled much like old Siver, by a theocratic council consisting of eighteen members; three each of Mara, the Empress, Drahthor, and Chactross, with six Verosians seated at any one time in hopes that should the council come to blows, the increased number of Verosians can keep the nation together, Other nations within Sivera are the Jade Empire and Alberan. Elves Dark Eladrin Celeron The Kingdoms of Azora There are officially Five Kingdoms of Azora, however the Fifth Kingdom is more or less destroyed, meaning that there are only four 'real' kingdoms remaining. The four kingdoms (The Feudal State of Valden, The Kingdom of Chorn, Ithilain, and the Pure State) are in a constant state of war and conflict over territory, with the exception of the Quest Mountains, for even the Pure State considers that land to be sacred and neutral territory. Of all the kingdoms, the Pure State is the one most in conflict with others. The only forces that the four kingdoms stand united against are the sinister Slaad and their newest threat of genocide, the Vampires. Even the Pure State is fighting against the Vampires... or so the other kingdoms think, for in actuality the Death Knight leading the Pure State and the powerful Black Knight have formed a secret alliance with the Vampires. In fact, several of the Death Knight's favored servants are themselves vampires. Meanwhile, the survivors of the Fifth Kingdom did not return to Azora, since after the Fifth Kingdom was formed all residents there were considered outlaws by the other kingdoms. Many now live in Terena, whereas Eon's location is unknown. Gnomes Gnomes are words made flesh. Each one is named after a word that best describes themselves, and the secret is that at their core, they are that word turned into a humanoid form. The gnomes originally hail from Babble, a small city nestled near the whispering woods. From there they have expanded and assimilated into a variety of different societies. They find themselves members of the Terenan States and the founding members of the Children of the Aether, and sizable numbers also live in the Free Nation and Alexandria, as well as small colonies on many of the other continents. The gnomes also operate The Circle, a group of thieves mostly devoted to the invention, production and sale of drugs, a practice that is looked upon with everything from disgust in the Terenan States to full support, as in Alexandria. Of course, the Circle also provides other services, for the right cost. Beholders The Beholder race originated in the Vorpal Cascade, created there by Xa'an. Eventually, one of their home asteroids crashed to the surface, creating Greyfang mountain. For centuries, the beholders terrorized the surrounding areas, taking slaves and creating a mighty base of power, until one night, their slaves managed to break free, escaping to the west and forming the fledgling Free Nation. Although still powerful, the Beholders eventually were defeated by other races, and the remaining members of their race went into a deep hibernation in caves in and surrounding greyfang mountain. Millennia later, the destruction of the Imperium by the Asikan empire and arcane magics managed to reawaken the beholders. They reemerged near Greyfang and began to build the city/nation of T'garth, the city of eyes. At first, the beholders acted in manners similar to how they had before, secretly taking prisoners. Eventually, though, a terrifyingly powerful beholder named Nylarthotep came into existence, with a new plan for the beholders... a plan to take the beholders and become a valued member of the world's races, rather than something to be feared. As could be expected, resistance to his plan was fierce, both from without, where the eladrin and the free nation especially were very reluctant to hear the beholders out, and within, where a sizable minority of the beholders desired to return to the ways of their ancestors rather than play nicely. Eventually, the Beholder's found that they were able to detect the Unshaped that had been slowly infiltrating the world, and decided that this was going to be their service to the world... to help the races of the world fight back against the encroaching beings from another plane. It is at this point that the rebel Beholders broke off and traveled to the plane of Delagor to resume their old ways. The beholders of T'garth, sitting atop their spires, watch the portal to Delagor, waiting to see when the self-styled 'true children of Xa'an' will return to wreak havoc on the world. Children of the Aether The Children began their existence as a group of refugees, snatched from various conflicts on the world below and offered refuge in the city of Diaspora, located on the back of the Zaratan Chukwa. As their numbers grew, the Children began to outgrow their original homes, eventually settling on a number of Yogloids, large, Aether-nouished Amoebas whose skin was thick and hard enough to allow the Children to exist on them. For many years, the Children expanded out throughout the Aether, until at about the same time, two crises occured at nearly the same time. The Ae-sylvani noticed the Yogloids and began to fear what the long term effects of the ever-dividing Amoebas would mean for the Aether as a whole. They began a campaign of destruction, burning and killing the Yogloids wherever they were found, whether colonized or not. Eventually, this conflict devolved into a full-fledged war between the Ae-sylvani and the Children, who were aided by the Iron State. At the same time, the Yogloids, who had not been given a way to replenish the thin layer of air which surrounded them and allowed the Children to breathe and live, progressively lost their air layers as they divided over and over again. Eventually, the Yogloid-bound Children were forced to survive via the use of Xarns, strange creatures that converted air to Aether and Aether to air. At the current time, the Children are in dire straights. Not only is their air supply running out, but the Miasma has driven their remaining numbers to flee the Aether and set out into the void itself. At the moment, the remaining Yogloids are tied via giant shining chains to Chukwa himself, who guides them out into the void, providing the Aether they need to survive as they wait for the Miasma to be destroyed and to have the ability to return home. Iron State Patren Patren was once the most magically powerful nation in the world. Using esoteric rituals to tap an artifact known as the Arcane Wellspring, the shadar-kai mastered a method to create warforged, using these creations as warriors, guards, as well as servants and laborers to work the fields, Combining warforged labor with shada-kai magic, they were able to, at least to some degree, terraform the desert, making it produce food and wood vital to their survival., Jealous of their magical power, the Asilians went to war with the Patren, a war that lasted nearly four milenia before Patren, struggling in battle against Asilia, back by devilish legions and the minotaurs of Menosa, reached too far. Pulling forth unimaginable power from the Arcane Wellspring, the Patren inflicted a horrid curse upon Asilia, transforming most of the humans into tieflings, ending the war in one moment. Unfortunately, the strain of power shattered the wellspring, killing every one within the capital, and leaving the shadar-kai mages without their most potent magics. Their greatest magics lost, the Patren dug in, struggling to maintain their crop production in their desert homeland. The nation has largely survived thus far, though the status of warforged as servants, soldiers, and menial labor has vanished as the shadar-kai learned that their servants had minds of their own. While the shadar-kai mages still hold the highest status and positions, warforged are becoming more and more equal every day. Asikan Empire Loha/Dasa Asilla An old kingdom, Asilia is compromised mostly of tieflings, with a few humans scattered among them. Longtime foes of their neighbor to the northwest, Patren, Asilia no longer attempts to destroy them, but remain hostile to this day. Despite being called a nation, Asilia is composed of several dozen major tribes, and nearly twice as many minor tribes. Wandering over the huge savvanahs that consists of their terrain, these tribes are constantly consider themselves at war with each other and every one nearby, but in reality, this essentially boils down to the occasional skirmishs and raiding of any large group that move soutside of its territory. At the very heart of Assilian territory is lives the Royal Tribe. This tribe, the descendants of the ancienst asilian kings, is unique among all tribes, able to move freely among all others. Once each year, erach major tribe sends fifty of their youths, and each lesser tribe sends ten. These youths serve the royal tribe as servitors and, for older youths, warriors and hunters. In exchange for this service, they are educated in the history of the land, and of the curse the Patren placed on them long ago. Additionally, those able are taught the more esoteric of asilian knowledge, training in the arcane arts, and how to sumon and bind demons with pacts. Alexandria The main human nation, located in the Shattered Lands, Alexandria is known for its mercenary forces and its 'anything goes' sense of lifestyle. Drug use is Rampant, and the region is rich in Silver ore, which gives the humans great wealth. Loremasters The loremasters are an organization, dedicated to knowledge as well as the pursuit of knowledge. The organization, centered in Loremaster Keep at the base of Skypeak, spans much of the known world, having enclaves as far flung as Asika, Zophar, and Taldar. Rumors even persists that the Loremasters had discovered a new continent in the deep south, near the old Imperium, and are beginning to exploire it. The loremasters have the strictest possible requirements for entry, extensively testing and interogatting every prospective member, even using magic to validate that members are not lying. This extensive and difficult entry period culminates in a meeting with the leader of the organization, a woman named Chastelli. No unstuitable applicant has ever passed this stage of the entry. Despite these rigourous requirements, actual members are largely free to pursue their own activities and whims. There are a few requirements, a certain amount of time spent serving on expeditions, in schools, or as scribes, but that is about it. Loremaster serve many valuable roles across the world, from advisors for rulers, sources of rare and esoterice knoweldge for those who can pay the price, and, most importantly, every loremaster enclave houses a school, free to any local who wishes to come and learn abouot the world around them. Loremaster enclaves can be found any where, on every continent of the world. However, they are most common on Serena, and are only beginning to establish a presence in the deep south and on Ardune. Legends has it that any peice of information worth knowing can be found at Loremasters Keep, for the right price. Free Nation Imperium Remnants Places of Interest/Plot Hooks The Children Return The Children have been forced to flee into the Void to avoid destruction from the Aether. However, they still need some supplies every once in a long while to keep themselves going... and they want to see if the Miasma is gone. Every 200 years, Children return to the surface via the Archway. Sometimes they come in peace, sometimes they come to replenish their supplies, and do so however it is possible. It has been 200 years, and reports have begun to come in of supplies missing and people dissapearing. Find out whats happening. The Word Wraiths The gnomes were originally words, and some gnomes have learned to harness that heritage to become more powerful. However, sometimes this use results in them turning irrevocably into word wraiths and losing their original form. It is thought that this change is occuring due to the conflicting natures of their two patron gods. Now, the gnomes are in trouble. In recent years, the rate of gnomes turning into Word Wraiths has increased dramatically, and if not stopped will eventually lead to the end of the race entirely. Players must travel to find Siccadan's book or another such artifact to attempt to stop the resonance between Siccadan and Nixis' powers. The Broken Mechanus The languages of the world were bestowed upon it by Nixis, who set up a great machine to do the task of selecting races and teaching them each their own language as well as regional dialects and the like. When its work was completed, it became dormant, resting beneath greyfang mountain... although the beholders do not know it is there. An Earthquake has reactivated the Mechanus, but it is acting in a haphazard fashion. People are waking up knowing other languages but not their own, and some are even ending up with unorganized jumbles of words in their brains from three or more languages at once. A call goes out for heroes to find out what is happening... but one thing is certain... the rate of deterioration is increasing. The Miasma Magic Drain Aetherhome, the grand ship that contains the Iron State's Aether-based contingent, is under constant assault by the corrosive Miasma. They have managed to hold it off by the creation of great magical shields, but there appears to be a problem... magic is becoming harder to use in the city. The city leaders have asked you to figure out what is going on. The Children's Salvation The Children are running out of air, and are relying on strange beings called Xarns to act as a sort of gill to convert the aether into air for their lungs, but it is a hellish existence. Nixis created an artifact to replenish the air on the Yogloids, but he dropped it, and its three pieces fell into various locations around the earth. Find the pieces and combine them to save the Children from their doom. link Beholders from beyond the stars While the beholder nation of T'garth is on relatively peaceful terms with the rest of the world, a rebel group, calling themselves the True Children of Xa'an, broke free and settled on the plane of Dalegar, turning it into their slave world. The True Children of Xa'an are gone, but they will only be happy for so long in their new land. Eventually, they will return in strength and numbers, and they will have Obtainers to ferret out resistance wherever it lies. This can only be prevented by traveling to their citadels and defeating their leaders to put the danger to rest... for now. link The Divine Spark When the gods finally abandoned the world one of them decided that it was not over, he took a portion of his own essence and crafted a powerful arcane construct that will grant divinity to any mortal who can manage to claim it and unlock its power. Aerie beings, called simply the Muses, wander the world seeking for mortal to entice with promises of nearly limtless power, putting them on a path of greatness or demise by the hands of the immortal Sphinxes who guard the Spark or rival would be gods. Will you try to claim the Spark for yourself or try to put an end to its dangerous lures? The Unraveling Free Nations ingenuity allowed them to create many arcane wonders, but some time resulted in terrible catastrophes, Rakhaos was once a rich city state before being destroyed by the explosion of a machine that can drain magical essence from the world. Its ruins still hold impressive riches and are rumored to hide the original designs of the Arcane Focuser, Free Nations most guarded secret, however no explorer has ever managed to survive the ruins the legend mention the presence of hungry ghosts and supernatural radiations, but the sceptics think about more terrene solutions. The mistery of Rakhaos only awaits for you to unravel it. The Mournelord under Terena While technically 'solved' in game, this is a rich adventure location suitable for paragon-level adventuring. During the Terena-Imperium war, Terena itself was sacked and unspeakable atrocities visited upon its captured people by the mournelord Ssarosk. The horror of the act was the spark for peace, as the Imperium condemned the action and handed over the mournelord to the Terenans to execute for his crimes. They, led by an Exarch of Nixis, devised a much more horrendous punishment, crafting an artifact to grant the Mournelord eternal life, then encasing his form in molten iron and burying him deep underneath New Terena, in and amongst the ruins of the old city. However, the mournelord was not finished, and was able to hollow out a large cavern underneath Terena, excavating much of the old city, and filled it with undead. Now, he looks above at the city that imprisoned him, hoping to find a way out of his prison and to wreak his revenge. 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